Wizard of the Pigeons is a 1986 fantasy novel set in Seattle by Megan Lindholm, and a forerunner of the urban fantasy genre. It was the first work to draw wider attention to Lindholm (who also writes as Robin Hobb). The novel explores themes of homelessness, poverty, and mental illness. It was issued as a paperback original by Ace Books in 1986, and was reprinted in hardcover by Hypatia Press in 1994 and as a 35th Anniversary Edition (illustrated by Tommy Arnold) by Grim Oak Press in 2020. Several UK editions have also been published. Plot The plot focuses on the homeless character 'Wizard' and his battle with a malignant force from his forgotten past. In order to survive, Wizard must rely on his powerful gift of 'Knowing'. This allows him to know the truth of things, to receive fortunes and to reveal to people the answers to their troubles. Aiding him in his battle for survival is the enigmatic 'Cassie' and several other people from the streets. Style Scholar Farah Mendlesohn describes Wizard of the Pigeons as liminal fantasy that pairs "plain descriptions of the fantastic [...] with baroque descriptions of the real". The novel has been cited as a forerunner of the urban fantasy genre, with author Jo Walton stating: "here are people who aren’t reaching back to Tolkien or to British and European folklore, they are doing something new, they are writing American fantasy!". Literary allusions to the Arthurian legend have been also identified in the story, with the title character identified with Merlin Ambrosius. Reception Wizard of the Pigeons was the first work to draw wider attention to Megan Lindholm. Author Orson Scott Card praised the novel as "miraculously good" and "so real, so original", but faulted Lindholm's use of "a vague, amorphous fog-like Evil Force" as the primary antagonist. In 1987, critic David Langford considered it to be "based on a cunning insight" and "(f)resh, original, (and) exciting." Sixteen years later, after the author began writing as Robin Hobb, publishers in France were interested in her Lindholm backlist and a translation titled Le Dernier Magicien was released. In 2004, Le Monde described it as "a work of undeniable originality and great poetic strength".The setting of the novel has received praise from critics. Scholar Alexei Kondratiev, writing for Mythlore'' in 1986, argued that Lindholm's portrayal of Seattle was "depict[ed] with the same eye for mythopoeic detail